Within the target, the Scottish Government also aimed to achieve 20,000 social rented homes as well as 5,000 council homes.

Both of these have been exceeded under the £1.7billion plan.

Speaking ahead of a housing debate in the Scottish Parliament, Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil said:

“I am delighted that we have now met our commitment to deliver 30,000 affordable homes ahead of our target date of March 2016.
“We believe in a Fairer Scotland for all and good quality affordable housing is central to making that a reality.

“We have worked hard with the housing sector to deliver these homes as well as develop innovative funding initiatives, such as government guarantees, loans, grant recycling and new sources of private funding, to help both buyers and developers”.

However, this announcement has been criticised by housing charity Shelter Scotland.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, told EN4 News:

“It is welcome news that progress is being made by the Scottish Government in delivering new homes to meet the shortage of affordable housing in Scotland. However, this progress is nowhere near meeting the level of demand.

“With today’s figures showing there are still 150,000 households on council waiting lists across Scotland, it is clear that demand remains high and much more needs to be done.”